1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to endoscopes, sometimes referred to merely as scopes, and more specifically to endoscopes including fiberoptics, electrical wires, conduits and other elongate objects collectively referred to herein as fibers.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
An endoscope is a surgical instrument having an elongate probe that carries optical fibers from a proximal end of the scope to a distal end of the scope. When the probe is inserted into the body, the optical fibers provide the user with a view of the regions interior of the body. Typically the optical fibers extend through a channel that is formed by a handle assembly and the probe of the endoscope. The scope may also include other channels, lumens or conduits to facilitate the manipulation of various instruments which are adapted for insertion through the endoscope.
Endoscopes are generally categorized in two forms, rigid and flexible. Flexible scopes tend to conform to the body anatomy, while rigid scopes tend to conform the body anatomy to the scope. With both of these types of scopes, bending of the probe commonly occurs. This is certainly the case with the flexible scopes but even the rigid scopes may experience some bending. When the probe of the scope bends, so does its channel and the enclosed fibers. Depending on the nature of a fiber, the stresses associated with bending may degrade its performance characteristics. This degradation may take the form of reduced optical properties or a failure mode resulting from the breaking of the fiber. This is particularly common with optical fibers which tend to break when bent along a radius shorter than three inches, for example. When a fiber breaks, the entire endoscope is rendered useless and requires that a significant expense be incurred to purchase a new endoscope.